Method of canning shredded cocoanut and article



F. P. IVIcCOLL AND W. Wx WILLISON.

METHOD 0F CANN|NG SHREDDED coCoANu AND ARncLE.

APPLICATION FILED IAN. 31, 1918.

1,330,597. .I A Patented Feb. 10,1920.

A Tra/PNEY' UNITED STATES P OFFICE.

FRANCIS P. 'MCCOLL, 0F RIDGEWOOD, NEW JERSEY, ANI) WALTER WILLIAM WILLISON,

OE NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNORS TO THERMOKEPT PRODUCTS CORPORATION, 0F NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION 0F MAINE.

METHOD 0F CANN IN G SHREDDED COCOANUT AND ARTICLE To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that we, FRANCIS P. McCoLL, a 'citizen of Canada, and ,a resident ,of Ridgewood, in the county of Bergen and State of New Jersey, and WALTER WILLIAM lVILLIsoN, a citizen of the United States,' and a resident of New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have jointly invented a certain new 'and useful Method of Canning Shredded Cocoanut and Article, of which the-following is a speci` fication. I

Our invention relates to peserving and canning shredded cocoanut.

Under the present practice the cocoanut is shredded, mixed with the required quantity' of sugar, and a certain quantity of glycerin is added t'o -insure that the shredded cocoanut will be soft when it is removed lfrom the can.

Then, in order to keep it from spoiling, it

. is necessary to dry the mass down so that there is quite azlow percentage of water,

usually about 5 per cent.

This procedure is not only expensive, in

that it requires the addition of glycerinor some similar agent, but it drives oif such a I themarket and large percentage of the natural milk of the cocoanut that the original and delicate taste of the cocoanut is largely destroyed and its bulk is reduced.

By our invention we greatly improve the product and obtain it at less cost than under the old process above referred to. We ob' tain an article that has more natural cocoanut milk than anv shredded cocoanut on has the perfect taste of fresh cocoanut.

B Vour method we shred the cocoanut in the usual manner and while it isjstill moist with its natural milk we mix the required quantity of sugar with it. 'y

. .We hen dry the mixture, of Hshredded cocoanut and sugar until the percentage of water retained is such ,that the shredded cocoanut can be sealed in vacuo without being processed. The percentage of Water.

I. retained will vary. 'A Usually it will be from .7 per cent. to 2O per cent., preferably about 12pm' cent. 'It is to'be distinctly under-- stood, however, that our invention 1s not l to be limited to these particular percentages,

for by our process itis simply necessary-to retain` in thel shredded cocoanut 'suli'cient Specification of Letters Patent. `f I Patented Feb, 10, '1920, Applicationjiled January 31, 1918. Serial No. 214,621.

.of the natural milk of the cocoanutlto give the` canned cocoanut the required softness which is now obtained by adding some other element as, for example, glycerin. A necessary resultof this is to greatly enhance the taste of our shredded cocoanut, making it substantially the same as fresh cocoanut, for

we retain a larger percentage of the natural milk of the cocoanut.

We then place the partially dried mixture of shredded ,cocoanut and sugar in containers or cans and subject them to a vacuf um, preferably a high one, so as to withdraw the occluded air from the shredded cocoanut, and then seal the cocoanut in the' containers.

This canning is preferably done in a vacuum canning machine, now well known inA the tradethe contents of the cans being preferably subjected to la. vacuum of about 28 container showing our shredded cocoanut therein.

Fig. 2 isa vertical section through an inner carton which mav or may not be used. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the cap of the carton.

Fig. 4 is a vertical section through a can containing an inner carton 'in which the cocoanut may lie-packed. In these drawings'the shredded cocoanut 1, after being mixed' with the required `quan. 'Il

tity of sugar and dried until the-percentage of moisture retained issuch that the shredded cocoanut can be sealed n lvacuo without being processed, is placed in the container 2, whichy is preferably a tin can. Itis, of

course, to be understood that ifdesired the shredded cocoanut may be first placed in the cans 2 and dried in the cans to the required degree, though we preferably dry the cocoa.-

nut before placing itV in the can 2. This'can 2 with its contained Ashredded cocoanut 1s then fed intova vacuum canning machiney (not shown) whichsubjects thev contents, of

the can to n vacuum suiciently highto prevent rattling or shaking ofthe carton Withdraw the occluded air from the shredded cocoanut, and then seals the cap 3 upon the can after of course, exhausting .all the lair from the can. The shredded cocoanut so treated and canned need not be processed.

To obtain thebest results We preferably use a vacuum of 28 inches or higher.

In some cases we may use an inner nonmetallie container or carton 4 having a nonmetallic cover 5 with holes 6, 6 therein. The shredded cocoanut is pla-ced in the carton 4, which is usually of paper, the cover 5 is then placed upon the carton, and the entire carton is then placed in the meta-l can 2. It is then fed to a vacuum canning machine (not shown) which exhausts all thev air from the can 2 as Well as from the carton .4 and the oecluded air from the shredded cocoanut, the air passing out through the holes 6, 6 in the cover 5. The center of the metal cover 3 originally is slightly convex. After passing through. the vacuum canning lmachine and being again subjected to atmospheric pressure, this atmospheric `pressure Will dish the portion 7 of the cover 3 and close the openings 6, 6, as Well as put sufficient' pressure upon the inner carton to within the tin can 2.

Having thus described our invention to the details of which We do not desire to be `condition, vacuumizing limited, what is claimed as new and what is.

desired to secure by Letters Patent is -set forth in the appended claims:

1. The process of preserving cocoanut Which consists in shredding the cocoanut' While in its natural state, mixing the moist,

vshredded cocoanut with sugar, Adrying to drive oft' part only of the Water content of the mixture to leave the mixture in a soft the mixture and sealing in vacuum.

finall"` 2. he process of preserving cocoanut in y.

a moist condition Which-consists in shredding the cocoanut While in itsnatural state, mixing-the moist, shredded cocoanut with sugar, drying the mixture until the percen,

tagev of Water retained is about twelve per cent. (12%), vacuumizing the mixture, and finally sealing in vacuum.

3. As a new article of manufacture, a

with sugar and freed ofioeper cent. (12%) of its'origf 

